


Snow-Watching, and Other Holiday Celebrations

by TheDarknessFactor



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Christmas, F/M, Pre-Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Pre-Relationship, Prompt Fill, holiday fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-10
Updated: 2016-03-10
Packaged: 2018-05-25 23:51:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6215134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDarknessFactor/pseuds/TheDarknessFactor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For the holidays this year, it's all about getting a gift for that special someone - or fooling them into helping you make it for them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Snow-Watching, and Other Holiday Celebrations

**Author's Note:**

> I can't believe I never posted this here. I'm a dingus.
> 
> Please enjoy!

The weather in New York City certainly knows how to take a turn for the worse.

That doesn’t stop Natasha from strolling through Herald Square at a sedate pace, ducking around the shoppers who have dared to venture out in the snowy weather.  Last-minute Christmas shopping usually trumps the desire to hole up inside with a mug of tea (or five), wrapped up in several layers of fleece blankets.  Natasha takes a moment to fantasize about such a scenario, though she can’t exactly complain; yesterday she, Thor, and Tony were in the Bahamas.

Granted, they were fighting off giant electric eels, so she feels like she’s owed something.  The burn on her back twinges in agreement.

There is something satisfying about the weight of shopping bags in her hands, and the healthy ache in her legs as she begins her trek back to the tower.  The snow is already all but trampled by feet other than hers, so it doesn’t present much of an obstacle.  The part of her hair that isn’t hidden under her hat is soaked, and her toes burn from the cold, but she finds herself humming along with a newer rendition of ‘Jingle Bell Rock’ as she passes by the open door of a bakery.  

Stark Tower looms up ahead as she traverses a few more blocks.  Stark’s security guards nod at her as she passes, in spite of the fact that she looks like nothing more than a harmless shopper (she’s been keeping them on their toes).  She manages to dry off in the elevator.

“Is the coast clear, JARVIS?” she asks.  

“I’m afraid not.  Dr. Banner is still in Lab 22.  Thor has expressed some interest in your secrecy and has instructed me to inform you that he is in the fourth floor kitchens.”

Rather than heading to the lab, as she had initially planned, Natasha dumps the fruits of her labor in her apartment before getting back in the elevator.  “Is he on his seventh gingerbread house?”

“Ninth, I believe.”

Ten, if you counted the fact that Thor had made a gingerbread gazebo to go with the mansion.  It looks disturbingly familiar, and she finds herself wondering if Thor had taken the initiative and googled what Stark’s New York mansion looks like. The row of completed houses is impressive enough that it feels like eating any one of them would be a crime.

That doesn’t stop her from taking a York mint from the shingles atop the ranch-style house at the end of the row.  

“Natasha!”  Thor beams at her.  The kitchen is a disaster; the stack of mixing bowls next to Thor alone is intimidating.  

“JARVIS said you wanted to talk.”

“And he is correct on that matter.”  Thor sets aside bowl of gumdrops, though not before offering it to her.  After considering, Natasha pops one in her mouth and settles herself on what appears to be the only clear stool in the place.  It has a bit of flour on it, but she can brush that off later.  

“The good Captain has filled me in your plan,” he says.

“Operation Science?”

Steve is supposed to keep his mouth shut, but she knows that the only person Thor will tell is Jane, and Jane will probably forget about it five seconds later in favor of rewriting her calculations for the seventeenth time.  She can picture Steve’s smug, triumphant look— a feat that isn’t hard, when she remembers their last conversation (“You’re never gonna pull this off, I’m telling you”).  

“Indeed.  I wish to contribute in some manner.”

Natasha shrugs.  “Any help would be appreciated.  I’m not that good at the whole Christmas thing.”  Thor, on the other hand, seems like he’s been born to celebrate Christmas, indulging in every tradition associated with the severely commercialized (but sometimes, admittedly, charming) holiday.  He’s a natural at it.  Natasha just sort of fumbles awkwardly with giftwrap and hopes that no one can see through the gap in the wrapping paper that she will (inevitably) leave.  Lila and Cooper take pity on her every year; it’s getting embarrassing.  

“Dr. Banner, it seems, does not look forward to Christmas.  I admire your attempts to make the holiday worthwhile for him.”

Natasha shrugs.  “Well, I don’t think I can stand to see him sulking around while the rest of the tower is cheerful.”

Clint won’t be around, of course, but the rest of the Avengers don’t really have anywhere else to go.  Sam has invited Steve to come to his parents’ on Boxing Day, but before then both will be at the Tower.  Pepper is practically putting the place on lockdown in an attempt to have a quiet evening in with Tony and the rest of the Avengers (Natasha doesn’t know how ‘quiet’ that’s going to be).  Jane’s flying in from London, so Thor is sticking around, and Natasha and Bruce…

Well.  They’re the ones who truly don’t have anywhere else to go.

“I’ll probably need some help with the wrapping,” she admits to Thor.  “And some other stuff on Christmas Eve.  Think you’ll be up for it?”

“Of course!  Christmas Eve is three days away.  I shall be finished with my final gingerbread house by… tomorrow evening.”

Natasha makes a mental note— that still may not be enough time, but she’ll take what she can get.  In spite of her height, she manages to clap Thor on the shoulder before she turns and leaves the kitchen.  “Nice job on those, by the way!” she calls.

Thor shouts his thanks after her.

* * *

The next few days are surprisingly quiet, given the time of year.  Natasha rarely runs into anyone when she wanders the top few floors of the tower, and when she does, little more than a quiet greeting is exchanged between the two of them.  She’s had encounters with Steve, Pepper, and Maria this way.  Thor is someone she can usually talk to for a little bit longer (they need to discuss their plans, after all).

She doesn’t really encounter Bruce until she finds him waiting for her in the penthouse kitchen.

“Hey,” she says.  He fidgets his hands a bit, a sign that he’s been waiting for her.  “What’s up?”

“I need your help with something.”

Natasha feels both eyebrows go up.  “You got Tony a Christmas present and he found out what it was?”

Bruce laughs, running a hand through his hair. “Close, but no.”

“Oh, wait, don’t tell me— you got stuck under the mistletoe with Steve.”

“What?  No.”  He pauses.  “Why would I need help with that?”

Natasha blinks once.  Thinks that over.  Blinks again. “No reason.”  It’s hard to keep her customary smirk from appearing on her face as she folds her arms.  Bruce, aware that he’s not about to get a serious answer out of her at this point, reaches into his pocket and pulls something out, placing it on the table before her.

She leans forward in interest.  It’s a gold pocket watch.  There’s no chain attached to it, but the clasp to open it appears to be functional.  She sends Bruce a questioning look; after a nod from him, she reaches for it and opens it. There’s a blank window on one side that suggests that a photograph is meant to be placed there, but on the other the actual clock part has been gutted.  She turns it over, recognizing Bruce’s handiwork in the way that the gears have been meticulously, carefully removed.

“I’m giving it a makeover,” Bruce admits.  “I wanted your input on what I should put in to make it as useful to someone as possible.”

“Depends on your definition of ‘useful’,” Natasha answers.  She turns it over in her hands once, admiring the workmanship, before she hands it back to Bruce.  “Depends on the person, really.  Steve would probably just want a regular old timepiece.  Tony would want some complicated gadget or something.”

“Okay.  Thanks. Well, I mean, if you have any other ideas… would you mind letting me know?”

“Sure.”

Bruce turns to leave when an idea suddenly pops into her head.  It’s far-fetched, and wouldn’t normally work, but something about this watch apparently has him so bothered that he probably wouldn’t even notice.  She gives a thoughtful hum that he apparently hears; he turns his head to look at her, tilting it a bit.

“Something the matter?”

“No, I just… any chance you could help me out with something, too?” she asks.

“Of course.  What is it?”

Natasha smiles.

* * *

“Dr. Banner!” Bruce winces, as everybody does, when Thor claps him on the shoulder.  Natasha suppresses a laugh.  “It is good to see you helping us on this fine Eve of Christmas, my friend. I was pleased to hear from Natasha that you had agreed to lend us your aid in our endeavor.”

Natasha, from behind Bruce, sends Thor a warning look. He merely beams back at her.  

“Yeah, it’s no problem,” Bruce says, staring around the room.  “So, uh… what exactly are you two doing in here?”

Natasha can understand Bruce’s confusion— half of the room looks like a Christmas fairytale, while the other half looks like a hurricane ripped through it.  That’s on purpose, though; it’s something that she and Thor spent half the night doing to try and hide what was really going on after they ran out of Christmas decorations.  

“Well, at the moment we’re trying to make mistletoe clumps,” Natasha said.  “Just to get people into awkward situations.  But we’ve been getting other things ready for the party that Pepper’s having tomorrow. You seemed like you were kinda down about something, so we figured that if you kept busy here with us, you might cheer up a bit.”

Bruce smiles.  “Thanks, guys.”

They make an odd trio, but Natasha soon settles into a comfortable rhythm with the two of them.  Bruce and Thor are the ones mostly tying bunches together (and it’s no surprise that they both find intricate patterns at which they can arrange the mistletoe), and Natasha’s the one who takes the finished clumps and distributes them around the tower.  When she puts one in place, she hurries to her own apartment and fetches a different item from her pile of bags from Christmas shopping.  As she predicted, Bruce doesn’t even notice when she sneaks each item back into the room where he and Thor are working.  

JARVIS, at some point, starts playing music from the Charlie Brown soundtrack, and Natasha finds herself with a Santa hat on her head, which Bruce snorts at (she throws a clump of mistletoe at his head in retaliation, which he ducks expertly).  Eventually they run out of mistletoe, and they retire to the kitchen for hot chocolate. Natasha excuses herself eventually, leaving to finalize her preparations.

Bruce is still up by the time she’s finished, watching the snow-covered city below with his empty mug still in his hands. She takes it from him slowly, wondering if she should tell him to go to bed or just leave him be.  

“Mom and I used to make gingerbread cookies together,” he says after a moment.  It’s all that he says, but Natasha can feel the weight behind it settling on her shoulders. She’d suspected that his reasons for becoming more withdrawn during Christmas had to do with his family, but she’s never expected him to actually say anything about it.  She isn’t surprised, therefore, that he doesn’t offer anything more, and so the two of them stand there, staring at the city.

She can’t offer anything in return— she can’t talk about how the first time Christmas meant anything was when Clint invited her to join his family, when she’d sat with Lila in her lap while the girl opened her presents and squealed with delight.  When Laura had handed her a box wrapped in green paper and kissed her forehead.

Instead, all she says is, “I’m glad I got the chance to do this with people who accept me.”

Bruce throws her a startled glance, then smiles.

“Me too.”

* * *

Stark further proves that he’s a five-year-old by waking them all up with JARVIS’ help.  “Sir would like me to inform you that he insists on opening presents now. He would also like to inform you that he will open your presents in addition to his own if you do not present yourself in the next five minutes.”

Natasha scowls, but puts the finishing touches on her project and shuts the door firmly behind her.  She didn’t get a wink of sleep last night, but it had been worth it.

The others are already in the penthouse by the time she gets there, all in varying states of dress.  Steve doesn’t even have a shirt on, but he’s handing out people’s gifts already.  Within a few minutes, Natasha is seated on one of the armchairs, a pile of five or six gifts in her lap.  She’s happy when Bruce decides to perch on the armrest next to her.

“Go to town, people,” Steve says, then starts ripping into his own first gift with surprising ferocity.

Natasha can’t really stop the grin that appears on her face with each gift: a pair of ARC-powered batons from Tony (he knows her so well), several Blu-Ray disks of Gilligan’s Island from Steve, a straightening iron from Sam (that one made her laugh), a digital camera from Clint, along with a note that taunted her about how she really wanted to post pictures of Liho on Facebook, tickets to the ballet from Pepper, and…

Bruce’s gift is in a tiny box, and she’s surprised when she pulls out the pocket watch that he’d presented her with the other day.

“I wasn’t sure what to put in it,” he admits after a moment.  She opens it to a photo of all six of the Avengers, crowded around each other in one of the most obnoxious selfies she’s ever seen.  On the other side is what appears to be a digital clock, but she notices the button underneath it.

“There’s a second one,” Bruce says, and she notices that there is, indeed, and identical watch also in the box.  “When you press the button on one, it emits a radio signature that can’t be picked up by anything except the other watch.  The second one is for you to give to whoever you want, in case you’re ever in a pinch, or… yeah.”

Natasha opens her mouth, then closes it again. She swallows.  “Thanks, Bruce.  I… this means a lot.”  Without really giving herself the time to think about the implications of what she’s about to do, she grabs his hand and presses the second watch into it.  

His mouth drops open.  

“Don’t say a word,” she warns.  “Also, you should put a picture in it.  Personalize it a bit.”

Bruce nods.  

Natasha stands up, offering him a hand, and hums happily when he grips it, his palm warm against hers.  She leads him away from the penthouse and down a few floors. If he recognizes that she’s taking him to the room where they worked on the mistletoe the other night, he doesn’t say so, and he draws in a sharp breath when she opens the door.

The room is vastly transformed from when they were last here.  The Christmas decorations are gone, replaced by walls covered in dark red and furniture of various, warm colors.  There’s a small stove in the corner that Thor helped her install, with tea stockpiled on the shelves.  There’s a window facing the west on one side.  

“I asked Tony if I could have another room,” she explains.  “He practically threw this one at me.  I know you spend most of your time in the lab, but… I wanted you to have some kind of space of your own, for when you need to be… by yourself.”

She’s careful to insinuate that she knows about his darker moments without actually saying so.  He seems grateful for this, squeezing her hand tightly before surprising her by drawing her into a hug.  It’s almost too easy to sink into him when he’s like this, and she lets out a silent sigh.

“Thank you,” he says, when he’s able to look her in the eye again.

“You’re welcome.  No one else knows about it, by the way.”

Bruce laughs.  “Thanks for that, too.”

Natasha is glad, however, that there appears to be no need to use the room today, and he returns with her to the penthouse, where everyone else is marveling over their gifts and having conversation. Pepper eventually declares it time to eat brunch, and they file up to get food.  Natasha catches Bruce’s eye, and is gratified when he beams back at her.

* * *

It’s a few days after Ultron that Natasha finds herself going through Bruce’s belongings.  She’s just finished digging through the last of his lab equipment when something occurs to her.  

The pocket watch isn’t there.

Natasha runs her thumb over her own watch, and smiles.


End file.
